AGNI  YOGA  WEB  TV

 

SERIES

 

EXPERIMENT  IMMORTALITY

 

BROADCASTING  4

 

Bring your Soul to Life

 

 

Dear Agni Yogis,

 

we continue the path on which we transform into immortal spirits.

 

We had already said ("The Secret of Immortality, Part I", Series "Experiment Immortality"): Millions of years ago, one of our ancestors left the animal kingdom by rising onto two legs. Today, ahead of us lies a similar leap to a higher level of evolution than man is.

 

The disciple asks, "How may I today climb the next step of evolution?"

 

You have to realize: You are not your body. You are the non-material being, the Supratemporal Individuality that incarnates on its eternal path in various perishable physical vehicles. You have to change your consciousness: "I am a soul". You have to bring this soul to life. You have to learn to act like a being of spirit on earth.

 

"I am not making much progress in my transformation into a being of spirit. When I transfer my consciousness into the soul, this is for the time being a purely intellectual process only. That is not enough, I assume?"

 

No, merely abstractly thinking "I am a soul" is of course not what we are aiming at. The transformation is a creative process.

 

From the old man you create a new living being!

 

Let us, therefore, take a further step together.

 

 

Section I: The Being of Spirit

 

"Can we say more specifically: How does this being look like that I shall bring to life or into which I am to transform?"

 

 

1. Definition of the Being of Spirit

 

Let us define this being of spirit, which we may also call soul, Eternal Individuality or Higher Self, with 6 aspects:

 

1st aspect: We are speaking about the spiritual part of your self, which lived before your birth in the Subtle World without a physical body. (Nicholas Roerich "Higher than Mountains")

 

This being descends from there to the material plane and incarnates in your body.

 

It uses the physical body as a tool or vehicle like a deep-sea diver his diving suit or a rider his donkey.

 

The being of spirit lives temporarily in symbiosis with your body. However, it is not this body, but a being different from the body.

 

It was driven out of its Heaven in order to descend into the hell of the physical world and to fulfill a task there. It longs to return to its homeland. (Luca Giordano "The Expulsion from Paradise")

 

2nd aspect: The being into which you are to transform leaves your body after your death. (William Blake "The Death of the Good Old Man")

 

It continues to live in the Subtle World without the body. One day it will return to Earth using a new body. The soul walks an eternal path through the most diverse material and non-material worlds.

 

3rd aspect: You are to bring to life your Supratemporal Individuality: That being which awakens to its life while dreaming in the night and seems to be sleeping during the day, like the Sleeping Beauty in the fable. You have to wake it up in the morning and keep it awake during the day so that it can act through the body.

 

When falling asleep – like at death – it withdraws from your body, moves about in the spiritual world in its dreams, acts there and returns to your body in the morning when you wake up. (William Blake "The soul leaves the body")

 

The souls of most of us are only poorly developed. That is why we still dream chaotically. Higher-developed spirits such as Helena Roerich preserve their consciousness in the Subtle World. They are flying during sleep, perform meaningful acts, participate in battles and provide a variety of help to those in need.

 

Urusvati [Helena Roerich], in her subtle body, continuously participates in Our help to humanity. (Supermundane 18)

 

4th aspect: We want to bring to life the spirit that, during a near-death experience, is watching from the ceiling how your body is being treated down on the operating table.

 

In doing so, your higher self looks at the body and the surrounding world with its spiritual eyes. The same view you may also take in the normal state. Each of us has already made the experience of viewing ourselves from above or from outside.

 

Sometimes you see yourself in an exact replica, as if alive before you. (Fiery World II, 145)

 

5th aspect: The soul is that higher being, which as the so-called "conscience", speaks to your perishable personality.

 

You perceive this being – and experience that it is real and alive – when you listen to what your heart wishes to tell you. We will come back to this point at once.

 

6th aspect: Finally, we may call the creature you are bringing to life the Fiery Body: Atma, Buddhi, and Manas, the higher, immortal triad. We had already talked about this top of the human pyramid in the Broadcasting "The Subtle Constitution of Man" (Series "Introduction to Agni Yoga").

 

*****

 

This being of spirit is undoubtedly real and existent. It is a creature from the Other World. It is eternal, and therefore even more real than the many different perishable physical shells it creates when it occasionally and temporarily incarnates on the material plane.

 

This being is your true, immortal self.

 

Look here: That is you, not the body!

 

 

2. The buried Soul

 

"Why do not I feel it when this spirit lives within me? Why does it remain so abstract for me? "

 

Here you are addressing a crucial problem. You should not believe unexamined what I am telling you. It is not enough for you just to parrot dogmas or arrive with the help of the intellect to the conclusion that you have a soul.

 

You have to experience the reality that there is a higher, spiritual being hidden within you.

 

You must realize that you consist of more than just the body, that you also have a non-material aspect. This expansion of consciousness through the recognition of the spiritual aspects of reality is the greatest task of humanity today.

 

Imagine: The consciousness of most people is still so confined that they do not even perceive the more important part of their own being, their higher self!

 

We have to recognize that what is real. Refusal to face reality can only lead to misconduct and chaos.

 

How you can make this experience, we had already discussed in the Broadcasting "The Secret of Immortality, Part I" (Series "Experiment Immortality").

 

*****

 

In the Broadcasting "The Law of Evolution" (Series "Introduction to Agni Yoga") we have described in detail:

 

During involution, on the descending arc of development, the spirit dives into matter. The monads lose their spirituality and become more and more physical and intellectual. On the ascending arc, during evolution, the spirit frees itself by spiritualizing the matter in which it is enclosed.

 

*****

 

Today we are at the lowest point of this cycle. This means: The spirit has so deeply immersed in matter that it has almost disappeared, that it is barely noticeable.

 

Your soul is buried deep within you.

 

It is as if it were entombed in a dark shaft. You have to free it, to get it out from down there.

 

You must bring it to daylight so it can awake to its life. (Nicholas Roerich "Lower than the Depths")

 

In the era of evolution, on the ascending arc, your task is: Your physical and intellectual development is largely completed. Now, you have to reveal again the spiritual, the eternal part of your being.

 

As long as that does not succeed, your spirit will remain hidden, and you need not be surprised that you barely notice its existence.

 

 

3. The Invisible Giant

Dimitrij Paciurea "The Giant"

 

We can put it another way:

 

Within you lies hidden a giant: The being of the next evolutionary stage that comes after man, that stands above him and is as superior to him as we are to the monkeys: An immortal, invulnerable, invincible being of spirit, which has much higher abilities and far greater possibilities for development than a material creature.

 

The new man of the coming sixth race is already laid out within you – just as the germ of the animal is already present in the plant and the germ of man in the animal.

 

The overman, of whom Nietzsche speaks prophetically, is slumbering within you. For the time being, however, he is still in the stage of an infant, who wishes to grow greater by all means.

 

This is the hero you dreamed of as a child. That is why you love stories about saints and heroes so much. They make a string within you resound: You feel the Titan within you, who longs to come to light.

 

You are a giant among dwarfs like Gulliver among the Lilliputians.

 

Meanwhile, the giant is still fettered. (Dimitrij Paciurea "The Giant")

 

You have to release him so that he can unfold his power and carry out his work on earth.

 

An ancient symbol of this mighty being incarcerated within you is the genie whom Aladdin frees from the magic lamp so that he might serve him. (Salvador Dali "The Genie of Aladdin")

 

You are to reveal this being, not the old man, or its even lower precursor, the animal! Therefore, instead of "transformation" or "bringing to life" we may also say:

 

You bring out the potential that lies hidden within you.

 

If you do not feel your soul or do not want to know anything about it: At any rate, you can sense this potential within you and how it downright urges for revelation.

 

You are still a caterpillar, which is to become something much greater and more beautiful – namely a butterfly.

 

 

4. Being of a higher Vibration

 

Finally, we want to express the facts in purely scientific terms: Your Supratemporal Individuality, your Fiery Body is a being of a higher vibration than your physical body.

 

"You have used the term 'vibration' many times before. But I am not yet really clear about what you mean by that."

 

Well, as we had already said (Broadcasting "The Supermundane World", Series "Introduction to Agni Yoga"): There is not spirit and no matter, but only spirit-matter.

 

Matter is spirit-matter of low, spirit is spirit-matter of high vibration.

 

Take an example: Water of low vibration is ice, water of high vibration is vapour.

 

"What does that mean for us humans?"

 

As long as we are in a state of low vibration, we are living in the physical body only. As we increase the vibration, the Subtle Body forms. In a state of highest vibration, we can appear with and consciously use the Fiery Body (the soul, the Eternal Individuality).

 

Just like another item with other properties is created, when you heat ice, namely first water and then steam.

 

Of course, in humans, high vibration does not mean physical heat, but fieriness in the spiritual sense: Decreasing physicality while increasing refinement and spirituality.

 

"That is still pretty abstract. Can you give an example from everyday life? "

 

When the fire of enthusiasm for a great, selfless work burns within you, you are in a state of high vibration. When you are irritated or aggressive, your being vibrates low, at the level of the body: selfish and unloving, bound to the lower, physical ego. More about this will be found in the Broadcasting "Fiery Condition" (Series "Spiritual Exercises of Agni Yoga").

 

Let us memorize:

 

The transformation, the bringing to life of the Eternal Individuality takes place when you increase the vibration of your being.

 

Thereby you grow from the old, material man to the new man of spirit. Now your soul begins to live!

 

Urusvati [Helena Roerich] understood that people can be transformed through better vibrations. (Supermundane 935)

 

The upcoming 6th race consists of men of spirit!

 

Now We assemble the spirits of the sixth race, and Agni Yoga is the Call! (Infinity I, 188)

 

The difference between the old and the new man is not external as between quadrupeds and bipeds, it is only in the degree of vibration! High vibration is a state of purity, vitality, joy of being, solemnity, serenity, peace of mind, enthusiasm and freedom from desire.

 

In such a moment your Fiery Body is existent!

 

When the vibration drops, you immediately turn from a spiritual back to a physical being.

 

It should not be thought that, in his consciousness, an Arhat could lose sight of the Guiding Will even for an instant. He proves to be a simple mortal, if he does not always solemnly bear the chalice of achievement. (Fiery World I, 196)

 

As vapour becomes water and eventually ice, when its vibration decreases.

 

The essential nature of man can be transmuted by the invocation of better vibrations. Only such a reminder will give man access to a higher status. At the present time humanity is found to be continually in the vibrations of the lower spheres; therefore the lower Manas motivates life. (Fiery World III, 253)

 

 

Section II: Shaping the Being of Spirit

 

1. The Eternal Individuality as untreated raw material

 

Now let us return to the question: How can you bring to life your soul, the giant hidden within you?

 

Your perishable personality was laid for you into the cradle. It is largely determined by your physical body, inheritance, and the society into which you were born. You are by birth man or woman, big or small, German, Russian or American, Jew, Hindu, Muslim or Christian.

 

*****

 

As opposed to that, your Eternal Individuality is not bestowed on you as a gift. It is still faceless, almost non-existent. Your true self is still very small, weak and barely formed. Your task, the task of every man who wants to grow greater and exploit the potential that lies dormant within him, is therefore:

 

You have yet to shape your soul.

 

A stone has not yet developed a body of feelings, a plant not yet a body of thoughts. Likewise, today's man of the 5th race has not nearly moulded the Fiery Body at all. This is the task we have to work on these days.

 

"Does not that mean aiming too high?"

 

No! We had already said (Broadcastings "The Law of Evolution" and "The Subtle Constitution of Man" of the Series "Introduction to Agni Yoga") and need to emphasize once again clearly: In the circle of involution and evolution, we are at present in Round 4 of the earthly cycle. Here, with the 4th race (Atlantis), the development of the lower, mortal tetrad of man should already have been largely completed.

 

*****

 

In today's 5th race, the development of Manas (straight-knowledge or knowledge of the heart), the first stage of the higher, immortal triad of man is already on the schedule. Then, in the 6th and 7th races, and later in Rounds 5, 6, and 7, with Buddhi (Higher Love) and Atma (Divine Spirit), the two other aspects of the Higher, Eternal Self follow.

 

*****

 

It is of the utmost importance that you realize: As far as the Supratemporal Individuality, the Fiery Body, can be formed on earth at all, its creation must begin now! We are in default! The 6th race is about to arise, and the tasks of the 5th are not completed yet. The development of Manas, the knowledge of the heart, has barely begun. We continue to lag behind the course of evolution!

 

*****

 

However, the three higher principles of your Eternal Being will only be fully shaped on other planets in the 5th, 6th and 7th Cycle of the ascending arc. It will take billions of years for the Fiery Body to be completely formed at the end of the 7th Cycle, just before returning to the highest point of the spiral evolution.

 

*****

 

For the time being, your soul exists only as a germ, as a latent potential. It is in an unprocessed raw state.

 

"An unsatisfactory, low state: I am untreated raw material !?"

 

Yes!

 

Your true nature is as yet almost non-existent!

 

Just think: Your true self, the more important, spiritual part of your nature, is at present in an embryonic state only. We can compare it to a baby who is not yet aware of himself and still has to learn some skills such as grasping, walking and speaking before we can truly call him a "human being".

 

One of the key points of Agni Yoga regarding our topic is:

 

For visions to happen the fiery body has to be sufficiently formed. Of course, the fiery body always exists, but it may be in a chaotic and unconscious state. (Heart 258)

 

Your Eternal Individuality exists – but as a potential only; and yet it does not exist, as long as the potential is not unearthed and becomes a reality.

 

Nature does not make leaps. We have to make the spirit man hidden within us grow out of us step by step in the course of a completely natural process.

 

The meaning of your life, your life's task is:

 

Become who you are – a man of spirit!

 

 

2. Example Animals

 

"That is still pretty hard to understand. Can you give an example? "

 

It is often asked, “Do animals retain their appearance in the Subtle World?” Rarely, because the absence of consciousness renders them formless; sometimes there are foggy outlines, like impulses of energy, but most often they are imperceptible. In fact, the manifestation of animals pertains to the lower strata of the Subtle World. Such obscurities can terrify one by their nebulous appearance. I consider that the subtle body of man should not remain in these strata, but in their consciousness people frequently resemble animals. (AUM 278)

 

This means: An animal does not yet have a fully developed Subtle Body.

 

The pyramid of its essence consists essentially of the lowest, the material basis only. The two higher levels are missing.

 

A stone does not know that it is a stone. An animal has only a very little developed consciousness. It can hardly recognize itself, and certainly not its Higher Self, its soul.

 

Thus, the animal lacks the crucial prerequisite to consciously mould its non-material being, with which it appears in the Subtle World. Therefore, it is formless, shapeless, and thus almost non-existent there.

 

"What does that mean for us humans?"

 

In the Subtle World, we can appear because our Subtle Body is adequately formed. In the highest layers, in Heaven, in the Fiery World, we cannot dwell yet because we have not developed our Fiery Body.

 

The human pyramid is far from finished. The top floor has yet to be completed.

 

Your soul has almost no shape at all. You first have to give it an identity that distinguishes it from others and a form that allows it to appear and to act meaningfully in the Fiery World as well as on the material level.

 

From the faceless mass, the raw material that you find, you must create your Eternal Individuality.

 

 

3. Create the Eternal Individuality yourself

 

For the practical purposes of everyday life, transformation into an immortal spiritual being therefore means:

 

You have yet to create your true Eternal Individuality!

 

This is a tremendous achievement, a true act of creation! From the unprocessed raw material of your soul, you create a work of art. But not a dead statue, but a new living being: Your Higher Self.

 

You are the creator of your own soul!

 

A symbol for this is the David which Michelangelo chiseled out of the marble block in which he was hidden.

Those attributes are the very substance of the Higher Self. They create its form and essence under as fixed and immutable laws as those which govern the accretion of the human body. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. I, Lesson 119 “The Law of Opposites”)

 

Educate your soul like an adolescent! The Eternal Individuality knows so much about itself that it can train itself (this is why the Teaching speaks so much of self-education or self-perfection).

 

You proceed the same way as a 15-year-old who decides to become a tennis player or a pianist: He imagines a picture of himself, an ideal, a personality with certain qualities which he has yet to develop.

 

Your Higher Self is still like a toddler, but at least further educated than that of an animal and already so great that it can and must take its development into its own hands! Unlike with the animals, the further evolution of us humans is impossible without our active participation!

 

 

4. Shape the Soul with your own Thoughts and Feelings

John Anster Fitzgerald "The Stuff that Dreams are made of"

 

"How can I create my own soul? A fascinating question that I am unable to answer. "

 

Yes, there is a gigantic challenge ahead of us: How are we to educate a being that one can neither see nor touch?

 

Your Supratemporal Individuality is a creature of the Subtle World. How is everything created that exists there, the whole reality: food, clothing, habitation, tools, vehicles, technical devices, institutions, worlds? (See the Broadcasting "The Supermundane World" of the Series "Introduction to Agni Yoga")?

 

"By thoughts and feelings."

 

Yes, that is the way it is! Your higher, spiritual ego consists of subtle matter, of the vibrations of the Subtle World.

 

Of the stuff dreams are made of. (John Anster Fitzgerald "The stuff of dreams")

 

This most fine substance is formless in its original state. Through thoughts, we can bring it into a concrete frame. So how do you shape your Higher Self?

 

"With the help of my own thoughts and feelings!"

 

Exactly!

 

Constantly every thought and every feeling weaves on your Eternal Individuality! Constantly you are creating yourself – your Higher Self – yourself!

 

Even the slightest sensation forms the texture of the subtle body. (Agni Yoga 225)

 

Every intention, every idea, every ideal, every motive, every expression of will, every conception defines and shapes your non-material being. That is why it is said that what counts are not so much the deeds, but rather the motives.

 

Beautiful and great thoughts like joy, love and self-sacrifice build a great, beautiful soul. On the other hand, if you allow hideous, small thoughts and feelings to arise such as rudeness, anger, irritability, envy, selfishness, malice, or aggression, you turn your own spiritual being into a small, ugly figure.

 

"Thus, my job is to shape for myself an Eternal Being, a Soul through my own thoughts and feelings ?!"

 

Indeed. You do that anyway. Every one of us does that at every moment, although unconsciously. But from now on, you are a sculptor who consciously creates a work of art – out of yourself, out of the unformed raw material of your soul.

 

*****

 

We recognize the immense importance of mastering our thoughts and feelings:

 

What you are depends upon your thoughts and feelings!

 

Man is what he thinks. (Buddha)

 

You should harbour only positive thoughts and feelings and not admit negative ones. You should not allow adverse circumstances, the selfishness, malice or stupidity of your fellow human beings to trigger ugly thoughts or feelings within you which cause above all one thing: They distort your own Higher Self!

 

You are a giant when you think and feel like a giant!

 

 

Section III: Making the Ideal a Reality

 

1. Forming an ideal Picture

Rodin "Jeune fille au chapeau fleuri des roses"

 

"How should I imagine my spiritual being?"

 

Here is the problem! It does not even exist yet! It is created only by your imagination!

 

"What is the first step?"

 

Now we are coming to the crucial point: There is only one way to consciously shape your Eternal Individuality in such a way that it does not remain nebulous but assumes a clearly defined form and identity: Without a blueprint, there is no meaningful construction. That means:

 

You have to form a picture of what you – your Higher Self – want to be. Then you can mould yourself – your Eternal Self – according to this ideal.

 

One of the most important teachings of the Mahatmas is:

 

You have to form an ideal pattern, and then mould the soul substance by or into that ideal. There are many unnecessary and hurtful protuberances to lop off, many cavities to be filled, organs to be changed, before that ideal form can be completed; but the fact that you have the power to do it should be a strong incentive to effort. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. II, Lesson “The seven Builders”)

 

 

2. Selection of the Ideal

Swetoslaw Roerich "Nicholas Roerich as Dalai Lama"

 

To form a picture means: You first have to define who you are or who you want to be.

 

"Do I have the choice?"

 

Unlike on the physical level, yes! In the Subtle World, the possibilities are unlimited. You can build anything you can think of. There, the expanse of your own consciousness is the only limit which is set for you: Only something that you cannot imagine, you cannot create either. This also applies to you yourself – to the work of art that is to become your Eternal Self.

 

You have the free choice: Who or what do you want to be?

 

An infinite variety of identities is available to you: a disciple (Gudrun Stiasny "The Wanderer through the Stardome") or a teacher (Rubens "Old Man", an apprentice or an Agni Yoga Master (Nicholas Roerich "Lama"), a male (Ernst Barlach "The Spiritual Warrior") or a female spiritual warrior (Titian "Pieta"), a healer (Nicholas Roerich "St. Panteleimon the Healer"), a leader (Nicholas Roerich "She who leads"), a Hierarch (Nicholas Roerich "Archat"), a king of the world or of the spirit (Titian "Emperor Charles V", Nicholas Roerich "Guru") , an envoy of the Mahatmas (Nicholas Roerich "From Beyond"), a protector of the poor and disenfranchised like Robin Hood (Robert Hope „Robin Hood“), a saint (Bernini "Teresa of Avila"), a hermit (G. Dou "Hermit in Prayer"), an artist (Camille Corot, "The Monk"), a thinker and philosopher (Plato), a priest (Nicholas Roerich "Beda the Preacher“), a mother of physical or spiritual children (Nicholas Roerich "Mother of the World") and much more.

 

Everything is possible! You can completely reinvent yourself!

 

This is a great opportunity, but also a huge responsibility. All of a sudden, not God is the Creator, but you!

 

Form a distinguished picture of the person to which you want to shape your Eternal Individuality: With a beautiful face, a dignified garment and in a sublime environment – as the one you see here.

 

 

(Swetoslaw Roerich "Nicholas Roerich as Dalai Lama")

 

 

3. Role Models - school

 

"Are there any role models?"

 

Yes, of course, the great saints and heroes of all times, peoples and religions such as Plato, Francis of Assisi, Hildegard of Bingen or Gandhi. However, you should think not so much of a person, but rather of an office, a role.

 

Your Eternal Self occupies a position, an office in the chain of the Hierarchy, such as mayor or chancellor, head of department or chairman, simple soldier or commander, novice or guru, nurse or doctor. Your perishable personality fills this role more or less well.

 

The identity of your soul is defined primarily by this role. You appear on the stage of the world as your office requires, for example as a teacher at a school.

 

A disciple or a teacher, a master, a healer, a spiritual warrior, a worldly or spiritual leader like the Dalai Lama or a Mahatma: These are all offices, not persons!

 

The greater your soul is, the more the personal traits of your mortal being recede behind the position it has to fill according to its mission.

 

You must overcome the thinking about your illusory transitory "I". You are the bearer of an office that gives you dignity which you have to preserve even when dealing with the unworthy.

 

 

4. Build upon that what exists

 

Now, unfortunately, now I have to pour a little water into the wine of unlimited possibilities:

 

Choosing the picture according to which you want to shape your Eternal Individuality, you should not proceed arbitrarily. On the one hand, you may dream like a child, who or what you would like to be. On the other hand, if this dream is ever to come true, it must not be too far removed from the real personality you actually are according to your true inner nature.

 

You do not transform into a completely new, into a foreign being.

 

After all, your soul, which you want to awaken to life, is extant already for eons. Without it, you could not live at all. It is just small, weak and untrained. You bring to life a being that already exists within you and which is slowly becoming greater by the way of natural, organic growth.

 

*****

 

You have to feel what you are in the Spiritual World by your very nature. Above all, do not aim too high! When a petty philistine dreams of becoming a king, a Mahatma, or even an archangel, that would just be ridiculous.

 

"Dreaming realistically" means: Envisage the next level, another intermediate step of your eternal journey, which you really are in a position achieve.

 

"How can I find out who I really am?"

 

In the Upper World, before your birth, you know of course, who you really are in eternity and why, with what mission you go to earth. This knowledge is usually lost during the incarnation. You have to try to win it back.

 

Remember: Who or what were you before your birth in the Subtle World? For example: Have you already been the disciple of a spiritual teacher or the crown prince of a king?

 

*****

 

The abilities and accumulations that you discover within yourself give a certain indication. A Mozart or Raphael was certainly an artist already in earlier lives.

 

Even the longings and dreams that you cherish are often shaped by the lost paradise, namely the real life, that you have actually led before birth in the Other World or in an earlier earthly incarnation.

 

If you are looking for your true identity, you have to go on from that what you have already achieved in past existences.

 

This portrait of Nicholas Roerich is an indication to his former incarnation as a Dalai Lama (see Helena Roerich, Diaries Book 5, entries of 31.01 and 07.03.1922). By his very nature, he is exactly not only a great artist, but also a worldly and spiritual leader. (Swetoslaw Roerich "Nicholas Roerich as Dalai Lama")

 

 

5. Fill the ideal Image with Life

Dürer "Charlemagne"

 

"I have chosen a picture, according to which I want to shape my soul. How should I proceed from there?”

 

Make your imagination, your dream, your ideal a living reality!

 

In order that the path you must take does not remain too abstract, out of the infinite multitude of identities you could choose, let us pick out two, an esoteric and an exoteric one:

 

To give an example, you could decide to give life to the ideal image of a spiritual disciple or to that of a king of the spirit.

 

*****

 

A spiritual disciple is a natural choice: We had already said ("The Hierarchy", Series "Introduction to Agni Yoga"): Everyone, even a Mahatma, is the disciple of a greater one. You are a disciple anyway, even if you are not aware of that fact. Just as you are the son of a father, whether that suits you and whether you know your father or not. More about how you can educate yourself to a became disciple, you will find in the Broadcasting "Become a Disciple!" (Series "The Path of the Disciple")

 

The role model of a king of the spirit we offer as an example to those who are not yet walking on the spiritual path, but nevertheless willing to unfold the possibilities dormant within them.

 

*****

 

You change your consciousness. Instead of "I am a soul", you now think, "I am a disciple of the Brotherhood" or "I am a king of the spirit".

 

Discover the king buried deep within you and bring him to light! Find the disciple within you who wants to become a Master!

 

As unbelievable as it sounds, we shall see right away:

 

You can enliven this ideal image!

 

Thus, you can make your dream image a reality.

 

The only consideration of the disciples is the concentration on the chosen Great Ideal, on the unwavering and constant striving to approach it. Such concentration continues unceasingly. Whatever such a yogi or disciple is doing, his thought is always occupied by his Ideal. Everything is performed in the name of this Ideal, and he always feels in his heart the love and the presence of this Image. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. I / 2, 135, 136, letter of 21.07.1934)

 

 

6. No Imagination

 

"Is not that mere imagination? Is it not a fiction, do I not lie to myself, when I attribute to myself a new name and a new office and pretend to be the disciple Ananda or the King Akbar? "

 

Yes, for our earth-bound consciousness it is difficult to accept the realities – that is the thought-forms! – of the Subtle World. The mere idea, the desire alone to become a disciple or a king is already a reality over there, although of course, a rather weak one only for the time being.

 

What we are doing is called visualizing today, without knowing that alone with the picture, a reality is already being created at least in the Spiritual World.

 

Remember about the raja who wished to receive a beautiful palace, and did receive it, but who, on entering it, thought about an attacking tiger, which then appeared and tore him to pieces. (Community 168)

 

"How can I densify such a fantasy, such wishful thinking to such an extent that it becomes a permanent reality?"

 

Now we have reached a most important point. "Densify" is exactly the right word: You have to apply two means if you want to make a thought, which is initially not more than a dream, a permanent reality.

 

First, you must shape and consolidate within you the consciousness that corresponds to your ideal image (this means in our example, the consciousness of a spiritual disciple or of a king of the spirit). Second, you have to act in material life on earth with a corresponding attitude.

 

Let us now take a closer look at these two means:

 

 

7. Consolidation of Thoughts and Feelings

 

First of all, you have to consolidate the thought-form that you nebulously envision. Steady your thoughts and feelings!

 

When you constantly jump back and forth, think sometimes like this and sometimes like that, sometimes fly high and then immediately crash, pursue sometimes high ideals and sometimes low desires, harbour the intentions sometimes of a saint and sometimes of a whore, or fidget like a jumping jack depending on who or what is currently pulling your stripe, you cannot even create a consistent thought-form, let alone a self-contained personality. You then build a chaotic entity composed of hundreds of contradictory fractions.

 

Due to lack of discipline of thinking and of lifestyle, there are so few stable personalities today.

 

Saturating space with intensified thought, we clothe aspects of our striving with a particular figure. Thus, out of elemental matter we create the desired image, which remains near the place where it was created, fortified by our thoughts. The eye of a child or a refined consciousness can perceive this formation. (AY 633)

 

The more you succeed in focusing your thoughts and feelings on the chosen ideal, the clearer and more solid a spiritual reality is formed:

 

As long as you think and feel like a disciple or a king, you are a disciple or a king – at least in the Subtle World.

 

As a disciple, for example, you welcome obstacles as examinations sent by the teacher, you make every effort to please your Master, and in everyday life, you always have in mind the goal of returning to his ashram in the evening.

 

As a king, for example, you are always sitting on the throne of your higher self, preserve the sovereignty of a ruler in every situation, and assume a superior position above people and circumstances.

 

If you allow just one thought or feeling to arise which is incompatible with your new dignity, you immediately lose the dreamt of identity.

 

*****

 

Now you see: We are not merely wallowing in dreams: Being a disciple or a king according to your inner nature, your consciousness, your thinking and feeling, is not an imagination, but a spiritual reality which the people you meet will sense as well.

 

 

8. Stand the Test of the World

 

The second means to materialize your ideal is: You must make the thought-construction a reality on the physical level as well.

 

"You say, my Higher Self is shaped by my thoughts and feelings. Thus, I am always happy and think positive – am I then already a member of the sixth race? "

 

No, unfortunately it is not as simple as some esoterics claim. With your thoughts and feelings, you are indeed shaping your spiritual being. However, as we had already said ("The Subtle Constitution of Man", Series "Introduction to Agni Yoga"): Man is an inseparable unit of physical, subtle and Fiery Body. These three components form an entirety.

 

Man is a creature the feet of which are upon Earth and the head in Heaven. (see Fiery World II, 12)

 

Your Eternal Individuality, which you want to develop, is only the top of this pyramid. There must be no break, no separation between the three levels. What applies above must also apply below.

 

*****

 

This means: You cannot be a disciple or a king in the Fiery Body – in thought – and a lecher on the material level. When your soul thinks and feels great and beautiful in your quiet little room at home, but your body behaves like a weakling in life on the street, your heroism is still far away from realization.

 

Your ideal must grow to become a reality on all three levels. Crucial is to stand the test on earth! Here it is revealed:

 

Are you still dreaming or already realizing your ideal?

 

Your transformation into a being of spirit, a king or a disciple is only completed when your high thoughts and feelings are reflected in a corresponding attitude of your physical being on the material level.

 

Your phantasy becomes a reality when you make it appear on the material plane.

 

Of course, not in the sense that you actually ascend the throne of the King of England or physically go to school with a spiritual teacher. Often this will not be possible at all, and it is also not necessary for the education of your Supratemporal Individuality.

 

Rather, you have to validate the "devised" subtle reality on the physical plane by behaving down here as if you were a king or a disciple. "As if" means: You take an attitude like a true king or disciple, like someone who is a king or a disciple at least in the Higher World, that means according to his inner nature.

 

You not only think and feel, but also speak and act the way a king or a disciple does.

 

Thereby, the spiritual reality becomes a material one. This is how your fantasy image materializes.

 

The perishable personality that you are in the current incarnation – shoemaker, father of a family or nurse – is insignificant, that is not you! In addition to that, you build up your second, Eternal Identity, which is much more important: You lead, so to speak, a double life. At the same time, you are (inwardly) a king and (outwardly) a shoemaker.

 

Form a picture of a king, a queen or a disciple. (Dürer "Charlemagne", Uta von Naumburg, Nicholas Roerich "She who carries the Stone", Gudrun Stiasny „The Wanderer through the Zodiac“, Nicholas Roerich "Pearl of Searching")

 

Vivify the image that you envision as an ideal. Become like a child again who while playing really is an Indian or a knight who saves people in distress and fights for the good.

 

Imagine, play, behave as if you were an envoy from a Higher Sphere descending to the earthly level to help those who are waiting for support from Above. (Nicholas Roerich "From Beyond")

 

We can speak of a virtual path: You are a virtual king or disciple. This is like in those computer games, where you build up a virtual personality that lives in a virtual world. The key difference, however, is: You transfer your dream into material reality and appear on the stage of the ordinary everyday earthly life with your virtual identity.

 

*****

 

You must not allow any word or act that is incompatible with your new dignity.

 

This is a difficult task. In life on earth you will be tested in all sorts of circumstances, whether you really are already a king or a disciple according to your true, inner nature.

 

We come back to the portrait of Nicholas Roerich as Dalai Lama: He must maintain his supratemporal dignity as a worldly and spiritual leader of a whole nation in a later incarnation as well, in which he is a homeless, destitute refugee, expelled by the Russian Revolution to Finland, England, the United States and finally to India.

 

When you do not succeed in defending the position of a king or a disciple down here on earth – and in particular when you get into difficult situations! –, you do not occupy such a position in the Subtle World, in Eternity, in the Hierarchy either.

 

As below so above, the iron law reads:

 

Anyone who proves unsuitable for a position will not be admitted or dismissed.

 

 

9. New Habits

 

A very important tool to affirm the subtle reality of your ideal image in the material world is: You give up obsolete habits that are incompatible with your new dignity.

 

*****

 

The greatest enemy of the New Man are his old habits. You know best yourself: Even if you have largely overcome the craving for delicious food, it is the power of your habits that brings you to the table at a certain hour, although you are not hungry at all, and that induces you to eat too much or the wrong food, although, in actual fact, you do not even have appetite.

 

*****

 

Turn this disadvantage into an advantage! Use the power of the habits and form new ones that fit your ideal. Thereby you really change your nature, because:

 

The habits are our second nature.

 

Habit is second nature—a wise proverb indicating to what an extent habit dominates man. The chief enemies of cooperation will be the small habits of selfishness. (Brotherhood 529, 530)

 

The New Man of the 6th race differs from the old one above all in his higher habits. A fallback into animal habits causes him to crash immediately and throws him back to the lower level.

 

How many achievements accumulated through centuries are swept away by one unrestrained roaring. (Hierarchy 400)

 

For example, as a disciple you form the habit of stepping before the teacher three times a day and leading a spiritual conversation with him. You get used to the Law of the Disciple: If you live according to this law one day and violate it the next day, you actually are not a disciple yet!

 

As a king, for example, you adopt the habit of wearing an invisible crown (See the Broadcasting “The Invisible Toga”, Series “Spiritual Exercises”) and giving example and guidance to your fellow human beings.

 

Through such habits you form over time your inner nature and develop an Eternal Individuality with a corresponding character.

 

Again you see: We are not just concerned with fantasies: To appear in the world with a royal attitude or the habits of a spiritual disciple is not a fancy, but already a material reality.

 

*****

 

It is important that you realize: How you think, feel, speak and act depends upon you yourself alone. No one and nothing can force you into thoughts, feelings, words or deeds that run counter to your new position.

 

You yourself aggrandize yourself! Only you alone can diminish yourself!

 

The formation of your Supermundane Individuality, the realization of your personal ideal is possible at any time and at any place. The most difficult circumstances even offer the best opportunities, as we had learned in the Broadcasting "Rejoice at Obstacles!" (Series "Introduction to Agni Yoga").

 

 

Section IV: Meditation and Discipline

 

Let us now start the creation process.

 

 

1. Meditation

Emil Nolde "Moonlit Night"

 

"How do I practically proceed to bring my soul to life?"

 

As long as you are busy with your everyday affairs, your Eternal Individuality has little opportunity to come out of its deep shaft and to manifest itself. You have to give it the time and space it needs to find to its life.

 

This happens especially in meditation. In the moments of rest and elevation, your soul comes to life!

 

*****

 

You start every new day by placing before your eyes in the morning the ideal that you wish to realize in earthly life, after which you want to form your spiritual being: According to the examples we have chosen, the image of a disciple of the teachings of wisdom or of a king of the spirit.

 

You create a corresponding state of your consciousness ("I am a disciple of the Brotherhood" or "I am a King"). You firmly undertake to bravely defend this position during the worldly day.

 

*****

 

I already told you the bad news: It will take billions of years for your Fiery Body to be fully developed.

 

The good news is: In meditation, you can at any time put yourself for a moment in a state of purity, power and joy of being. (See the Broadcasting "Exercise Elevation" of the Series "Spiritual Exercises").

 

At that moment, the spirit-matter of your being is in a higher vibration and your Fiery Body is emerging!

 

I cannot make it clear enough:

 

In meditation there takes place a real transformation. (Emil Nolde "Moonlit Night")

 

Above all, however, you have to experience yourself:

 

By putting yourself in a state of higher vibration, you are actually transforming into a higher being.

 

You overcome the purely physical condition. In meditation you really are a being of spirit. Your Eternal Individuality comes to light like the butterfly from the caterpillar: A creature full of purity, vitality, joy of being, selfless and free from desires. The treasure, the potential is unlocked. The Titan that lies hidden within you has awakened.

 

Now your soul is alive! (Nicholas Roerich “Higher than Mountains)

 

The better you meditate, the safer you will experience: It is an indescribable exhilaration to live in this sublime original state of your soul.

 

"Can we do without the religious concept of a 'soul'?"

 

Yes, we may also put it scientifically:

 

Even if you doubt whether you have a soul and whether you can perceive it: The vibrational state of your being – joyful or depressed, powerful or weak, pure or dirty – you can sense!

 

"This is not easy to understand: In meditation, all of a sudden, I am a different, a higher being, which I am not in normal everyday life?"

 

Yes, exactly! Let us consider two examples:

 

 

2. Example Nutrition

 

There is a statement of Agni Yoga which is disconcerting at first sight:

 

Disdain food. (Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 373 [438], 237 [271])

 

Theoretically and abstractly we realize: A being of spirit does not require material food. It tries to limit it to the absolute minimum.

 

However, it is not enough just to say intellectually: Because I am a soul, I need no eating.

 

Of value is only if you make the experience that eating burdens your soul.

 

In meditation you experience this reality, because for a moment you have transformed into a man of spirit.

 

In this state, you really have no desire for material food.

 

When the spirit-matter of your being is in a state of high vibration, as in the solemn mood of a concert hall or a church, appetite does not arise at all.

 

You actually are without any cravings and perfectly happy!

 

In contemplation you feel with a certainty beyond all reason: Your Higher Self, the king or the disciple within you, detests the unclean needs of the body and does not want to have anything to do with food. It despises everything that is in contradiction with its inner nature and incompatible with its dignity as a spiritual being.

 

Your soul does not want food because it reduces its vibration; because by the intake of food it is dragged down from its ideal state and tied to the material world that is alien to its essence.

 

“Apparently, we are not merely concerned with food?!

 

No. We are talking about creating a state of high vibration. Desirelessness, lack of lust is only one of the many consequences of this elevation.

 

When you feel longing for food, that means: You are in a state of low vibration. You should satisfy your appetite not by eating, but by uplifting yourself in meditation.

 

"That again is too highflying for me. After all, I am a human being of flesh and blood and no spirit! I need physical food and therefore may as well enjoy it. "

 

That is how many think. Already Goethe made fun of the small, harmless, childish humans, to whom every aspiration to higher ideals is alien:

 

Ich höre schon des Dorfs Getümmel,

Hier ist des Volkes wahrer Himmel,

Zufrieden jauchzet groß und klein:

Hier bin ich Mensch, hier darf ich’s sein.

 

Hark! Sounds of village joy arise;

Here is the people's paradise,

contented, great and small shout joyfully:

"Here I am human, here I may it be!" (Goethe, An Easter Walk, Faust I)

 

 

They know nothing of the eternal ascent of an immortal and waste their seemingly short life following the frivolous, irresponsible motto:

 

Let us eat and drink and be merry, for tomorrow we shall die. (Isaiah 22, 13, 1 Corinthians 15, 32)

 

You and I, however, we do not want to stop at the human level. We intend to climb the next rung on the ladder of evolution. We prefer to say with Nietzsche:

 

I teach you the Overman. Man is something that is to be surpassed. The Overman is the meaning of the earth. (“Thus Spoke Zarathustra”)

 

*****

 

Of course, your vehicle will eventually feel hungry and you will have to provide it with food, exactly as you feed your car with petrol. However, when you continue to remain in the state of mind of a spiritual being, this is no longer, as in the past, a pleasure, but only an annoying necessity.

 

It robs you of time, money and strength. It exposes you to the danger of losing the ideal state of rest and equilibrium of the soul and of making your consciousness fall back into the body which enjoys eating.

 

*****

 

You recognize the huge benefit of the transformation: For a spiritual person, does it not mean a true liberation to limit food intake to a large extent? Shopping, preparing, ingesting, washing up, digesting, excreting – these are all in the end annoying or even repugnant duties.

 

*****

 

Even if you are not that experienced in meditation, you know the sublime primal state of your soul: When as a child you were playing enthusiastically and forgetting yourself, you had no appetite and were angry when the parents called you to the table.

 

And when as an adult you are absorbed in valuable, creative work (that is, when you are in a state of high vibration), there is no thought about food. Then you just take a small bite in between, without interrupting your work.

 

Transformation into a being of spirit, to bring the Fiery Body to life requires to constantly preserve the fire of enthusiasm.

 

Do not suppress the appetite with compulsion or prohibitions. Do not work with the intellect: "I do not want food, because I am a soul." Do not make yourself or others feel guilty. The path of Agni Yoga is the better:

 

You transform your inner being through a spiritual exercise (meditation) into a creature that by its very nature has no appetite.

 

It is contrary to the nature of an elephant to eat meat. An animal is an elephant only if it does not eat meat.

 

Likewise, it is contrary to the nature of a being of spirit to have cravings for food. Consequently, you are a being of spirit – and stand one step higher than physical man – only when this desire has become alien to you.

 

 

3. Example Vitality and Joy of Being

Nicholas Roerich "Krishna"

 

Let us now consider a less demanding example:

 

In its pure, original, unspoilt, meditative, highly vibrating state, your soul is full of vitality and joy of being. Weakness and depression are signs of a deviation from the normal state, of a disease of your Eternal Individuality.

 

Thus, if you want to express your true self, you have to establish the state of mind of vitality and joy of being in the morning in meditation and strive to defend it in the course of the worldly day.

 

*****

 

You are a soul only when you rejoice at the manifold obstacles and difficulties of everyday life, because they give your Higher Self an opportunity to grow, and when you go to battle vigorously (See the Broadcasting "Rejoice at Obstacles!", Series "Introduction to Agni Yoga"). That is your true nature! Your task is:

 

Keep your soul in a pure, strong and joyful state – no matter how your perishable personality fares.

 

 

4. Discipline

 

Through meditation in the morning you create the higher vibration which makes your being radiate beautifully. Through discipline during the day you avoid everything which lowers that vibration. You get used to:

 

Thinking nothing, feeling nothing, speaking nothing and doing nothing that defiles the purity of your spirit, weakens its power, or tarnishes its joy of being.

 

Meditation alone is not enough. Much of what you do automatically, you simply have to give up: Reaching for a bar of chocolate or a glass of red wine in the evening, flaring up in case of irritation, doubt, scepticism, anger over fellow human beings, sadness over the miserable state the world, and much more.

 

*****

 

Again, the unloved term "discipline" is not about external compulsion. Just hearken to yourself: The Invisible Giant within you, the higher, better part of your being is ashamed of your weaknesses, rebels against the evil habits and desires of the animal within you that he wants to overcome, and fights everything that keeps him small, suppresses him and hurts his dignity.

 

*****

 

Discipline simply means: You cease to do something which, as you know very well from bitter experience, hurts your Eternal Individuality and makes your vibration crash.

 

If you give in against better knowledge, this is in essence an act of self-destruction.

 

Discipline must complement meditation. In meditation you transform into a being of spirit for a moment only. Just as the homo erectus quickly fell back onto its four paws and as a baby crashes again and again while learning to walk, the new immortal spirit, as soon as he leaves the meditation position, will quickly fall back into the state of an ordinary mortal without discipline.

 

As soon as you feel that your vibration is decreasing, you should immediately take countermeasures and rise again.

 

In the beginning, you create the higher level not once and for all, but anew at every moment. You can stabilize it only by habit!

 

As long as the man of spirit is still small and weak, only discipline will help, until the proper behaviour, the higher vibrational state has passed into "flesh and blood".

 

 

Section V: Transfer the Consciousness into the Soul

 

Let us now take a closer look at the practice of awakening the soul. You have to transfer your consciousness into your Supratemporal Individuality and make it think, feel, speak and act.

 

1. Transfer your Consciousness into the Eternal Individuality

 

In the Broadcasting "The Secret of Immortality, Part I" (Series “Experiment Immortality”) we had already spoken about how you can transfer the consciousness into your Eternal Individuality. The decisive step is taken, when you affirm:

 

I am a soul!

 

Be aware: You are the being of spirit that incarnates on its eternal path in various perishable bodies.

 

Everything else follows automatically from this realization.

 

The consciousness must rest in the top of the human pyramid; not in the physical body, but in the soul.

 

Transfer your consciousness into the charioteer of the Quadriga, who controls the physical body, the body of feelings, the body of instincts and the body of thoughts from above.

 

During sleep, your consciousness is already in the Subtle Body; to move it to the Fiery Body is the next step.

 

"That is difficult to understand and even harder to practice."

 

I know. Let me try to explain it as simply as possible: When your consciousness rests in your Eternal Individuality, what do you do before you think, feel, utter or execute anything?

 

You ask your heart. The heart is the most important organ of your Eternal Individuality.

 

It tells the charioteer infallibly what is right and what is wrong, where he has to direct his four horses. We shall talk about that instantly in more detail.

 

The old man uses the intellect, the New Man the heart.

 

In raising from four to two legs a physical, today a mental evolutionary step is to be taken: Fill your soul with consciousness.

 

 

2. Form your Self-Awareness

 

We proceed further: If the soul hidden within you is to come to life, it must first form an awareness of itself.

 

"What do you mean by that?"

 

Let us go back to the example of a newborn child: For a baby to be able to develop independently, it first has to differentiate itself from its surroundings. In the womb it thinks that it is a part of its mother. It must first become aware of its own existence, which is separate from everything else.

 

This happens, for example, by cutting the umbilical cord, receiving its own name, and giving a name to its parents and to the objects in its environment.

 

"As for a toddler, I understood. But what does that mean for the soul? "

 

At the moment, your soul is still so small that it has hardly any self-awareness at all! It does not even know that it exists! How should it then consciously think, feel, speak or act?

 

Therefore, proceed to "cut the cord". Separate – mentally, of course! – your spiritual being from your body and give it a name that marks its own independent individuality.

 

Be aware: Your soul is an independent creature clearly separated from all other beings and objects in your environment.

 

"That is hard for me to follow. Body and soul are after all inextricably linked. The soul penetrates my body and expresses itself in each of its movements. Did we not just say: The human pyramid is a unitary entity!?"

 

Yes, attention well paid! This is how many people think who have difficulties making this immensely important step. But as the baby you cannot dispense with this painful partitioning.

 

The unity of the three stages of the human pyramid does not change the fact that the individual levels – physical body, bodies of feelings, instincts and thoughts as well as the Fiery Body – have to be developed separately one after the other.

 

*****

 

Your Eternal Individuality already existed before birth and will continue to exist after death without the body. From that follows its autonomous existence independent of the body. Only during the short time of the material incarnation does the soul live in symbiosis with the body.

 

As long as it does not realize that, the eternal path of a self-contained development independent of the many short-lived bodies is blocked to the soul.

 

Only after the "cutting of the cord" the further steps of the life of the soul will become possible, about which we now want to speak: Your Eternal Individuality – not unlike a child, which is to grow up – must recognize and satisfy its needs, form a will of its own, carry out its mission, as well as learn to think, feel, speak and act independently. Partly, as we shall see, even against the body, as a baby may one day have to go against its own mother.

 

Every molecule of living matter embodies an embryonic – a rudimentary – soul, that is on its way to self-conscious existence. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. I, Lesson 135 “Blood Sacrifice”)

 

 

3. Preserve your Self-Awareness in all Worlds

 

We go one step further:

 

Your Eternal Individuality has to form an awareness of self that is alive not only during its present-day earthly sojourn. This consciousness must last when the soul returns to its homeland, the Supermundane World, after the death of the body. And exactly the same self-awareness must continue to subsist when one day in the distant future – maybe only after centuries! – you return to the earth for another incarnation.

 

*****

 

Suppose you have decided: Your Supratemporal Individuality is called "Anima" and it is a disciple of the Brotherhood.

 

Then you have to be again "Anima" and again a disciple of the Brotherhood not only after death "in Heaven", but above all during your next stay on earth.

 

If this self-awareness is lost at some point during the long journey – for example, after death in the transition to the Upper World –, then you form there – or later, when you return to Earth – a new, completely different awareness of self.

 

In this way, with constantly changing identities in the course of the eternal path, you cannot form a unitary self-contained Eternal Individuality. Thereby, you are just creating many different temporary personalities, who cease to exist already when leaving the respective level.

 

"Can you give an example?"

 

It is assumed that the individuals mentioned in the "Book of Sacrifice" of the Teaching (Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, 297 [353]), namely Kurnowuu, Salomon, Allal Ming, Sheikh Rossul Ibn Rakhim, Origen, Sergius of Radonezh and Emperor Akbar of the Great were all incarnations of Mahatma Morya.

 

Now, a great spirit like a Mahatma cannot incarnate at all if he risks forgetting his true identity on the way down, while staying on earth, or upon returning to the Higher World.

 

Likewise, you, too, have to preserve without interruption on all levels, in all worlds the consciousness that you are the incarnation of a disciple of the Brotherhood or of a king of the spirit. Otherwise you will lose this position.

 

"How can I manage to maintain an identity as a disciple for all eternity in all worlds? That seems to be a rather difficult task! "

 

Indeed, this is an exercise pointing far into the future. We can only indicate two aspects here:

 

We had already talked about the transition into the Other World without interruption of the consciousness (Broadcasting "Preparation for Death in Dignity" of the Series "Aspects of the Practice of Agni Yoga"). What was said there is also applicable to maintaining self-awareness during all changes of existence.

 

Furthermore, you have to establish and keep up the closest possible connection to your teacher.

 

So close that he immediately reveals himself to you on every new level.

 

That means: He awaits you on the threshold in the afterlife and contacts you in a new incarnation already in the age of childhood, as was the case with Helena Roerich (see Supermundane 21). Then, you will quickly find your way back to your role as a disciple in every new material or spiritual world.

 

The Silvery Thread connecting a disciple to his teacher is not lost at the death of the body but survives all transitions if only it is strong enough. (Svetoslav Roerich)

 

 

Section VI: Let your Soul think and feel

 

Descartes says, "Cogito ergo sum - I think, therefore I am."

 

Maria Callas says: "I work, therefore I am."

 

Both are right. In general, we may say:

 

Any being is really alive only when it thinks, feels, speaks and acts.

 

Like a toddler, your soul really awakens to its life only when it begins to think, to feel, to speak and to act independently.

 

 

1. Make your Soul think

 

Your soul reveals itself when you give it the opportunity to think.

 

"Does the soul think?"

 

Of course! Or can you imagine a higher being that does not think? Like a child, the soul has as yet to learn to think properly.

 

"How am I to understand that? What does "properly" mean? Can one also think "wrongly"?

 

By "thinking properly" I mean: Thinking according to its very nature. That thought is “right” which springs from the innermost depths of your spiritual being.

 

"That again is difficult to grasp. Can I split my thinking, once the body thinks and another time the soul? "

 

Yes, there are actually two ways of thinking:

 

There are two kinds of thinking. One is born from feeling, in other words, from the heart, and the other from the mind, which is akin to the intellect. Self-sacrifice is born from the heart. (Supermundane 13)

 

The thinking of the intellect is the thinking of your perishable personality. The thinking of the heart is the thinking of your Eternal Individuality.

 

"Can you give an example?"

 

Yes, remember. We had already said ("The Secret of Immortality, Part I"): The body thinks, "I am hungry." The soul thinks, "My vehicle, brother donkey, craves for food. Does he really have to get some already now? "

 

The body thinks, "I am wounded." The soul thinks, "My tool seems to be damaged."

 

The body thinks egotistically of survival and enjoyment, the soul thinks selflessly of the fulfillment of the Higher Will.

 

 

2. Direct your Thinking through the Heart

 

Let us solve the riddle and come to a very important phrase to remember: To make the soul think means:

 

You direct your thinking through the heart.

 

One of the most beautiful and practically significant teachings of Agni Yoga is:

 

Even in thinking, one should form the habit of directing thought, so to speak, through the fire of the heart. (Fiery World I, 633)

 

The heart tells you infallibly what your soul wants and what it does not want, what corresponds to its spiritual, eternal nature and what is in contradiction to it.

 

The fire of the heart purifies your thoughts.

 

It removes selfishness, offendedness, depression and irritation from your thinking and fills it with love, joy and concern for the common good.

 

The Fire of the heart penetrates through chaos and transmutes it into a useful substance. The laboratory of the heart is powerful, and thought itself must be purified by Fire. (Fiery World II, 46)

 

When something bad happens to you, your lower self thinks, "Such a hassle!" Or "Alas, poor me, that too!" When it has gone through the heart, this ugly thought turns into joy over an obstacle, that gives you an opportunity for spiritual growth. Guided by the heart, your soul thinks: "Thanks, now I may grow greater!"

 

The true disciple lives with the heart, thinks with the heart and judges with the heart. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. I, letter of 17.08.1934)

 

"What does that mean in practice?"

 

Take a break! Live more slowly! (Turner "The Fighting Temeraire")

 

Before you think anything, give your soul time to look at the situation from above with its own senses, with its inner, spiritual eyes!

 

Always ask your heart first!

 

One should look upon the earthly things through the fire of the heart. (Fiery World II, 460)

 

Only then allow your perishable personality to create a thought!

 

In this way you practically realize the rule of your Higher Self over your body of thoughts.

 

However, this practice is only effective when you are in a pure state of high vibration. When you are in a selfish, aggressive, irritated, insulted or depressed mood, your Higher Self has no chance to express itself.

 

First, you have to cleanse your heart before you may rely on its guidance.

 

"That is hard."

 

Here is a good advice: Do not indulge in personal concerns! Stop thinking about yourself! Think less of your person and more of your office: Allow the disciple, the teacher, the king, or the healer to think, who is hidden within you and whom you want to express.

 

"Does not that lead to a split of the consciousness, of my personality?"

 

No, look at other officials: Even Mrs. Merkel thinks differently as a private person at home on her sofa or on vacation than in her office as Chancellor.

 

 

3. Make your Soul feel

Nicholas Roerich "She who leads"

 

Your soul reveals itself when you give it the opportunity to feel.

 

"Does the soul feel?"

 

Of course! Or can you imagine a higher being that has no feelings?

 

We have already talked about many examples: Your Eternal Individuality smiles at occurrences from which your perishable personality suffers. When your lower self gets angry with its fellow human beings, it easily succumbs to aggression, hatred, or vindictiveness. As opposed to that, your soul loves all its smaller or greater brothers and sisters.

 

*****

 

In order to bring your soul to life, you must direct not only your thoughts, but also your feelings via the heart.

 

As in case of thoughts, the heart purifies the feelings and frees them from egotism and other negative affections such as sadness, doubt, anger and selfishness. Always listen first to the pure feeling of your heart.

 

Only then allow your body of feelings to create a feeling.

 

A feeling purified by the heart can only result in love and joy.

 

That is not grey theory. How often do we men experience that a woman helps us to purify, refine, and ennoble our thoughts and feelings. That is because her heart has usually already taken the lead. (Nicholas Roerich "She who leads")

 

 

4. Forming the Will of the Soul

 

Your soul reveals itself when you give it the opportunity to form its will.

 

"Does the soul have a will?"

 

For sure! Or can you imagine a higher being without a will of its own?

 

*****

 

The will of the body is directed towards survival, reproduction and pleasure.

 

Your soul is a special creature insofar as it does not want anything for itself. It demands the fulfillment of the Higher Will, the observance of the Cosmic Order, the implementation of the plans of the Hierarchy, and the realization of the principles of the Higher World such as truth, justice, beauty, and love.

 

"How do I form the will of my soul?"

 

Reflection, the straight-knowledge of the heart, or inspiration tell you what is good, right, and necessary to reach these goals of the soul. This you must direct your will to implement in everyday life on earth. The will of your Eternal Individuality becomes the more stronger the more you strain it.

 

For the time being, the giant hidden within you is still like a baby who allows without resistance his older brother to grasp his toys. To reach his true greatness, he must learn to form a will of his own and to enforce it against all odds.

 

 

5. Satisfy the Needs of the Soul

 

The more you allow your soul to live, the more you will find:

 

Like every other living being, the soul, too, has its needs!

 

Maria used to say, "The Callas is killing me with her demands!"

 

Let us look at some examples:

 

*****

 

Your soul wants to be nourished, otherwise it withers away. It calls for spiritual food: For strengthening, elevating, thoughts, ideas and ideals that pour down to you during communion with the Higher World.

 

*****

 

Your Eternal Individuality wants to be trained, so that it becomes greater and stronger. It aims at growing from a small to a Great Soul, a Mahatma.

 

The joy of the heart lies in striving upward. (Heart 39)

 

*****

 

Your Higher Self as well seeks pleasures, although not material, but spiritual ones. In particular, it longs for beauty which it finds it in nature or in the arts.

 

The highest satisfaction is felt by your soul when it seldom succeeds to enforce on earth the Cosmic Order: Truth, justice, beauty and love.

 

Its only dependable pleasure is meditation, the connection with its Eternal Homeland, the conversation with its teacher.

 

*****

 

Your Supermundane Self, too, wishes to be beautiful. However, you cannot achieve that by using a lipstick or undergoing plastic surgery. A great soul needs no make-up.

 

True beauty comes from within!

 

Your soul is beautiful when it radiates purity, vitality, joy of being, light and love.

 

If you want to become a beautiful soul, do not worry about the shortcomings of your body, better pay attention to the splendour of your emanations! Look into a spiritual mirror: Does your aura shine golden? Of that you may be proud, not of hair dyed blond!

 

*****

 

I am sure you have already noticed: Not only with men (who usually are not particularly pretty anyway), but especially with women a positive, lively and loving radiance is much more attractive than the purely physical forms.

 

*****

 

Even in the most difficult situation, do not allow thoughts or feelings to lower your vibration, to disfigure your aura and thus to render your Higher Being ugly! If you have the necessary knowledge of the foundations of existence, you can always react in a joyful, friendly and loving way even to the grossest attacks.

 

*****

 

To be beautiful, you have to control your body: Lower desires diminish the vibration of your being and lead to a hideous, animal radiation. With selfless concern for your neighbour and for the common good, on the other hand, you create a noble aura.

 

People should think about the quality of their radiations. Each act of good improves one’s radiations. (Supermundane 812)

 

*****

 

Finally, like every living being, your soul as well desires love and security. It hardly finds them on earth and reliably only in its Eternal Homeland, with its true father and its supratemporal brothers and sisters. Therefore, allow your Eternal Individuality to meet its soul mates in meditation regularly.

 

 

Section VII: Do what the Higher Self wants

 

Now we come to the crucial point: If you want to develop your soul beyond the current status of a toddler, you have to do two things:

 

Listen to what your soul says and actually carry out what your soul wants.

 

 

1. Listen to the Voice of the Soul

 

Let us start with the first exercise: If you do not listen to what your spiritual being thinks, feels, and wants, it has no chance to come to life. It will then remain in its previous silent, passive state.

 

*****

 

Because your soul is still small, it speaks so weakly that you barely notice its voice.

 

You can hear it better when you place yourself in a state of purity, tranquility, clarity, balance, and solemnity. Excitement, anger, rudeness and irritation suppress the voice of your soul. That is why it is so important to maintain this higher state of consciousness – especially in difficult situations where you are in particular need of guidance.

 

"How exactly do I perceive the voice of my soul? Surely not with my ears?

 

No of course not! You understand what it wants to tell you via the heart. We repeat: The heart is the most important organ of your Supratemporal Self.

 

The voice of your heart is the voice of your Eternal Individuality.

 

Therefore, hearken to what your heart whispers to you! You can always consult it when you do not know how to conduct yourself.

 

Woe to those who deny or disregard the voice of the heart. They will be walking one wrong track after the other.

 

The ability to hear the voice of the heart already leads to truth. (Fiery World II, 251)

 

What does your heart feel, what does it say to you, when you eat too much or too heavy, when you are trapped in your egotism or rudely barking at your partner in an irritated mood?

 

The heart warns you reliably against everything that is incompatible with the nature, the mission or the dignity of your Higher Self. The heart prevents you from touching things that are poison to the soul.

 

Ask your heart first before you open a bottle of wine, a box of cigarettes, a package of meat or a chocolate bar!

 

Who is unaware of the warnings the heart gives every time an unworthy act is about to be performed? Such actions of the heart transmit the best calls, but often people force the heart to be silent. This is a grave crime. (Heart 367)

 

„Are you talking about the much invoked bad conscience?“

 

No, this is not about morality or the guilty feelings evoked by the superego of the psychiatrists. Better you sense: The Invisible Giant within you feels aversion, even disgust for all that which is contrary to his nature, harms him, drags him down or lowers his vibration. He despises everything that reduces him to small size.

 

You know very well: It actually hurts your soul, as the saying goes, when you allow yourself to get carried away by something that is unworthy of your true self.

 

 

2. Follow the Advice of the Soul

 

Of course, just listening to what the soul says is not enough. You have to carry it out, that means, you should speak and act as the soul demands.

 

When you perceive what your Eternal Individuality wants, but do not execute it, you corrupt its pure feeling. Like any other creature, it will remain silent and stop its appeals if they are ignored anyway.

 

What could be more destructive than commands of the heart that are not carried out? (Heart 486)

 

From a weak toddler to a great and strong being, there is only one way:

 

You strengthen the will of your soul by executing it.

 

Every muscle and every organ becomes stronger by being applied to work. Likewise, your Higher Self as well grows from a small to a Great Soul (Mahatma) only by appearing and acting on the material plane.

 

Every applied thought will bring growth to the spirit. (Infinity II, 777 [377])

 

That means: Take some good resolutions and actually carry them out, then your Fiery Body will begin to live and to grow. It is as simple as that!

 

*****

 

Like your thoughts and feelings, you can also direct your words and deeds via the heart. Before you speak or act, you can and must ask your heart.

 

This is especially important with negative expressions: Before you cry, whine and moan, scold or curse, scream and roar, accuse others, stamp with your feet, flail about or smash porcelain, better turn to your heart first.

 

*****

 

If you are wondering what your Immortal Self wants you to do, again do not think so much of your person, but of your office, your role, your position in the Hierarchy: What does a disciple of the Brotherhood, a king of the spirit, a healer or a teacher want? The ideal image you have chosen, the king or the disciple within yourself will give you the answer.

 

Maria listens to what Callas says.

 

And in this context, as we know, "the Callas" is not a person, but an institution!

 

Always imagine: Not you personally, but a disciple, a teacher or a king appears, that is: enters a room, eats food, talks to other people, or carries out certain acts: How would such an official behave?

 

*****

 

You should hearken to the spirit within you. It speaks to you via the heart. This being you are called upon to reveal. The old man and certainly the animal within you are outdated. They belong to the past. They have to die so that the New Man may live.

 

The eternal spirit within you that has incarnated and is dwelling on Earth for a short time wants to express itself through your body. That is its mission. Therefore, you always have to ask yourself:

 

"Do I express the transient, physical or the eternal spiritual aspect of my being?"

 

May your mantram be:

 

I reveal the divine only!

 

 

3. The Gold of the Soul is stained

 

"I have an objection. You always say that the soul has no desire for material things. However, we had found (Broadcasting "The Supermundane World" and "Preparation for Death in Dignity"): The soul takes all the qualities, including the bad ones, with it on its eternal way, so that, for example, the craving for alcohol tortures it even in the World Beyond. "

 

Attention well paid! Let us put it more precisely: In its pure, original state, the soul does not require physical enjoyments. As opposed to that, the many animal and human bodies it has formed on its eternal path have the highest desire for material things.

 

*****

 

If you have yielded to such cravings in past existences, if the satisfaction of your animal lust has gone out of hand and went far beyond the normal measure of natural needs, this will in time be imprinted on your Eternal Individuality as well. Out of ignorance, lack of discipline, or because you are not listening to your heart, you accumulate in the course of your incarnations a lot of unnatural qualities around the pure core of your soul.

 

You besmirch your Higher Self with unworthy thoughts, feelings, words and acts. This will eventually become a habit – and thus a part of your essence.

 

*****

 

For the alcoholic, the consumption of alcohol has “passed into flesh and blood" to such an extent that it has become an aspect of his inner nature, which he does not discard at death, but retains.

 

The gold of your soul is afflicted, stained with dross that is alien to its true, spiritual nature.

 

You have consistently piled up this dirt, and now you must wash it away by arduous cleaning work.

 

You can disfigure your soul in the same way as your body.

 

It is meant in this sense, when we say in simplified terms: It is not the soul that has material desires, but the body.

 

 

4. Struggle

Tintoretto "St. George and the Dragon "

 

Do not deceive yourself: Bringing your soul to life, becoming a king of the spirit or a disciple of the Brotherhood means enforcing a spiritual reality. This is no mere honey licking! This is just as difficult and encounters as much resistance as any other attempt to realize an ideal on earth.

 

The new man of spirit has many enemies: the dragon inside and the old men around.

 

Now it is time to take up the fight! (Giordano "Archangel Michael")

 

The wisdom of all ages teaches: Within you yourself, there is a tough struggle going on between two beings who both want to manifest themselves. Both fight for control over your thoughts and feelings. Both strive to enforce their will.

 

This is the conflict between your higher, eternal spiritual and your lower, perishable physical being, between the divine and the animal within you.

 

An eternal symbol for this struggle is the battle of Archangel Michael and Saint George with the Dragon. (Tintoretto "St. George and the Dragon")

 

Among the most repulsive is the drab dragon of everyday routine. Few know how to overcome the dragon of everyday routine. But such heroes multiply their forces tenfold, and each day they raise their eyes anew unto the heavens. (AUM 319)

 

We have already mentioned many examples for the fact that the aspirations of your perishable personality and your Eternal Individuality are often diametrically opposed to one another, such as regarding food, caring for oneself, and pleasures. When you allow the animal thoughts and desires of your lower self to be realized, you suppress at the same time your spiritual being.

 

Your soul wants to use your body as a vehicle for its higher purposes. When this tool presumes to enforce its will, the soul cannot fulfill its mission.

 

"Does that mean the body is bad?"

 

No, of course not! It is an achievement of the evolutionary process to have produced a strong, intelligent body. It is only that at the current lowest point of the involutionary cycle, the soul is still small and weak. It cannot hold its ground against a body that has reached the peak of its development and suppresses the soul’s delicate voice.

 

The Eternal Individuality is not yet able to steer the body. It cannot accomplish anything yet: It can scarcely utter its will, let alone assert itself against the much stronger power of your lower self.

 

The mission of the immortal soul is to be the driver! When it has awakened to life, it must first of all establish its rule over the four mortal bodies, over the physical body and the bodies of thoughts, feelings and instincts.

 

The more it takes up this fight, the greater and stronger your Eternal Self will grow.

 

*****

 

A tough battle also takes place between you and the circumstances in your environment. With their demands, needs, constraints and temptations, they initially hinder the flourishing of your soul. On this field, you are waging the war primarily by changing your attitude and using obstacles as opportunities to promote the growth of your eternal spiritual being (see the Broadcasting "Rejoice at Obstacles!").

 

 

5. Use the Abilities of the Spirit

 

A baby, after birth, brings his physical body to life by learning to grasp, crawl, walk, and speak, that is, by using its powers, senses, and abilities.

 

Likewise, we develop the body of thoughts and the body of feelings by putting them into use: You begin to think and to feel, and by exercising these skills, you refine and strengthen these two bodies.

 

For example, in today's homo sapiens, the brain due to its constant use has a much larger volume than in homo erectus, who first rose onto two legs.

 

Biology teaches a most important rule, which also applies to the spiritual life:

 

It is the function that creates the organ!

 

Take the eye as an example: First there is a part of the skin that is more sensitive to light than other parts. As this advantage is more and more used, over time the highly complex and highly refined organ we have today evolves. When it is not used, the organ immediately regresses.

 

It is no different with your Eternal Individuality: It awakens to its life above all when you take one particular step:

 

You begin to use the abilities of your Fiery Body.

 

"How can that happen? What are those skills? "

 

Well, we have just spoken in detail about the most important one: The central organ of your Supermundane Self is the heart. It tells you infallibly how it wants you to think, feel, speak and act. Therefore remember:

 

Building up your being of spirit means above all: Develop your heart!

 

You should start with that, not with reading of thoughts, telekinesis or flying. We recognize the paramount importance of the education of the heart!

 

Agni Yoga is the Yoga of the heart!

 

The path of Agni Yoga is through the heart. (Heart 495)

 

The heart does not grow in volume like the brain, it is refined when we use it.

 

A sensitive heart captures a greater part of the hidden subtle reality. Expansion of consciousness proceeds by refinement of the heart.

 

We find a wonderful correspondence between the knowledge of the heart and of the intellect: Our feeling tells us: The education of the heart is now indispensable and urgent on the schedule of mankind, if we wish to move forward. And the scientific reason tells us: In today's 5th race Manas is to be developed – the knowledge of feeling, which is based above all on the refinement of the heart (see the Broadcasting “The Law of Evolution”, Series “Introduction to Agni Yoga”)!

 

*****

 

In addition, we can generally say: The abilities of your soul that you should begin to use in order to develop them are, on the one hand, its spiritual power (the psychic energy) and, on the other hand, its inner, spiritual senses.

 

How you can strengthen your spiritual powers and sharpen your spiritual senses, we shall discuss in detail in the Broadcasting "Shaping the Eternal Individuality" (Series "Education").

 

 

Section VIII: Shaping the Body of Light

 

1. The Soul is what it radiates

Nicholas Roerich "Fiat Rex"

 

"Frankly, I have great difficulty imagining being a supermundane creature which is not material, which one can neither see nor touch. Am I not a non-entity then? "

 

No, of course not. One can recognize your Eternal Self as well, namely with the higher, inner senses: For them it is "visible" in the form of your aura!

 

You are – your Eternal Individuality is – what you radiate!

 

Your soul, your Fiery Body is a body of light!

 

It also consists of matter, but of matter as fine, as spirit-like as light; it consists of a radiation or vibration of a wavelength so high that it is invisible to the physical eye.

 

You are a being of light!

 

We had already said (Broadcasting "The Supermundane World"): In the Subtle World, there is no light. This sphere is illuminated alone by the emanations of the beings living there. From this you see: Your true self, which outlasts death, is in its essence a figure of light. At least in the Other World it is visible and enlightens its surroundings.

 

What is perceivable of you in the Fiery World? Only your eternal, Fiery Being, your body of light!

 

*****

 

On Earth, your higher self is not visible, but it can be sensed by its radiation. What you really are according to your inner nature is reflected in your aura.

 

You cannot hide your true essence. Sensitive people will always feel it, no matter how hypocritically you smile or how flatteringly you speak. Your aura is the passport photo by which your Supratemporal Identity is infallibly recognized.

 

That is why it is so important to accelerate the discovery of methods of fixing or photographing auras. Such a snapshot would be a true passport for a man! (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. I, letter of 18.06.1935)

 

What you think, you are. What you are, you radiate. What you radiate, you attract. (Buddha)

 

In selflessness, love and purity or in fear, doubt, greed and insecurity, your aura shines in very different colours!

 

For your surroundings, when you radiate low thoughts or feelings, you actually are only a low being, and when you emanate high ones, a high being.

 

As with all spirit-matter, here as well applies: The nature of your spirit is determined by the state of its vibrations.

 

A great spirit is characterized by a high vibration. It has developed a great and strong Fiery Body, a beautiful being of light.

 

It radiates bright light like a sun.

 

The crowns of the Masters are in their royally beautiful radiations. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. I, letter of 08.11.1934)

 

A lower being, on the other hand, has a low vibration, is surrounded by a dead, dark aura, and devours light like a black hole.

 

As one’s own light illumines the surroundings, so too does one’s own darkness choke all space. (FW III, 135)

 

Gradually, ascending from simple to more complex organisms, the monad, or seed of the spirit, remains unchanged in its primary wholeness. But the emanations from this seed change according to the growth of the consciousness of the organism which is animated by the seed. Consequently, the more complicated and refined is the organism, the richer and more subtle are the emanations of the monad. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. I, letter of 18.06.1935)

 

Creating your Eternal Individuality like a master builder therefore means:

 

Work on the quality of your emanations.

 

You alone determine what you radiate.

 

Create a being of light of great purity, power and beauty!

 

That will be a work of art which you can be proud of!

 

 

2. Education of the Fiery Body

 

"What does that mean in practice?"

 

The education of the Fiery Body proceeds like this: In the morning in meditation you put yourself in a state of highest vibration! You build up a wonderful aura! You will see: You too can sense whether you are vibrating high or low.

 

"How can I create my aura?"

 

Very easily. The aura is built up from within. When you fill yourself with purity, vitality, joy of being, light, and love, you will also radiate these qualities.

 

You can only radiate that what you have before absorbed.

 

We had already talked about the details in the Broadcastings "Exercise Elevation" and "Meditation"

 

*****

 

In the course of the day, in earthly life, you use every possible means to preserve this sublime state. Avoid anything that lowers the vibration of your figure of light and renders its radiation ugly, impure, or weak.

 

A reduction of the vibration is a suffocation of the fire!

 

Defend the radiance of a disciple of wisdom or of a king of the spirit under all circumstances! Take Jesus as an example: He preserved the aura of a Christ even during his scourging and went calmly through this severe trial. When you behave inappropriately, whine or moan, roar or scream, the high radiation disappears. (Tintoretto "Flagellation of Christ")

 

Your vibration is in constant change, sometimes up, sometimes down. That means, if you are what you radiate:

 

Every minute you are someone else!

 

Sometime a high and a second later a low spirit.

 

Every beautiful, good, solemn, loving and selfless thought and feeling raises the state of your vibration and thus the radiance of your being.

 

Any gross, irritated, angry, covetous or aggressive thought or feeling, every weakness, every egotism, every remnant of the animal, old man makes your vibration decrease and leads to an ugly distortion of your aura – and thus of your Higher Self.

 

You have to gradually strengthen your being of light, so that it permanently shines in beautiful colours. Always ask yourself:

 

Do I shine? (Fiery World I, 615)

 

Again, we recognize the overriding importance of mastering your thoughts and feelings – they shape your radiance and thus your true being.

 

Therefore I reiterate so much about the necessity of clear thinking. One should be so sure of the quality of one’s own thinking that in every moment one is sure of one’s own light. (Fiery World II, 20)

 

One must keep watch over one’s thoughts, in order to send those of the best quality. (Fiery World II, 240)

 

Then your aura emits emanations of the highest quality.

 

You are constantly radiating anyway. Now you consciously determine the quality of your emanations yourself by directing your thoughts and feelings.

 

*****

 

Here is an important spiritual exercise:

 

When your body, your perishable personality is sick, tired, weak, irritated, desperate, angry or sad – then, exactly then defy the weakness, employ all of your psychic energy, increase the vibration of your soul and build up from within a beautifully shining body of light.

 

Thus, in spite of all sorrow, you realize your transfiguration into a "better man," into a higher being. (Tintoretto "Crucifixion")

 

Nobody and nothing can prevent you from achieving that – except you yourself.

 

Man is largely controlled by sensation. But man is not at the mercy of any such influence, for he has will and power to change the vibratory impulses of his body, and therefore to change the influences which control him. (Teachings of the Temple Vol. III, Lesson “Rapid Motion”)

 

A well-developed spirit is almost visible.

 

Your Eternal Individuality, the being of spirit within you, your true self, the disciple of the Brotherhood or the king of the spirit must be so alive, concrete, and strong that it shines to the outside through the dense shell of your perishable personality!

 

The fiery body may sometimes manifest itself even through the physical shell. So when the manifestations of the Fire of Space have reached a certain intensity, the fiery body begins to radiate, as it were, in small fires across the surface of the physical body. Only rarely can this subtle, fiery condition be seen. (Heart 343)

 

The strong emanations, the powerful aura of a Mahatma radiate through the physical body, shine out of its depths. (Nicholas Roerich "Fiat Rex")

 

When your higher, eternal Self is strong, it is perceptible to everyone behind the inconspicuous facade of your weak body always threatened by decay.

 

At all times, sacral art has represented this radiation by a halo. (Nicholas Roerich "Sergius of Radonezh")

 

Again: This is not mere phantasy, but a spiritual reality! People sense when they have to do with a saint or king of the spirit, even if he is outwardly dressed in the attire of a simple craftsman or a beggar.

 

Anyone who is as sensitive as Helena Roerich can immediately recognize a disciple of the Brotherhood, even if outwardly he does not differ at all from the surrounding people.

 

You yourselves can testify that when Djwal Khul came to welcome you, He appeared no different from the other Lamas. Urusvati immediately sensed the unusual, but the outer appearance could also have been attributed to the head of the monastery. (Supermundane 40)

 

 

3. Hologram

 

We want to express the facts also in scientific language: We had already said (Broadcasting "The Secret of Immortality, Part I"): The soul is a little larger than the body.

 

Your being of spirit surrounds you like a force field.

 

The bigger and stronger it is, the higher your Eternal Individuality stands.

 

The assertion that the divine Monad is not within the man is correct to a certain degree, as the seventh and the sixth principles form the so-called magnetic field or auric egg. Thus, by the width and emanations of the aura it is possible to determine the high standing or quality of a spirit. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. I, letter of 18.06.1935)

 

You can imagine the building up of your body of light similar to the projecting of the hologram of a person into space.

 

You project the ideal image designed by yourself into space. Thereby you create a form of subtle matter that envelops your physical body. This being is transparent or only partially recognizable (namely with the inner senses only) like a hologram. It is a spiritual, a subtle reality.

 

*****

 

The energy field that surrounds you is shaped by your own thoughts and feelings. Beautiful thoughts and feelings project a beautiful structure into space. In a state of rudeness, irritation, aggressiveness or other low vibrations, the beautiful image disappears immediately and is replaced by an ugly one.

 

This energy screen is nourished, kept alive and strengthened by your psychic energy.

 

You can build up this power field with the help of your psychic energy, similarly as a spaceship raises its deflector shields.

 

"How do I proceed in practise"

 

In the morning after getting up, your vibration is usually low, your aura is powerless, sluggish and grey. You need to restore a state of high vibration through the fire of the spirit and in meditation to boot up the hologram around you.

 

The energy shell grows from within you.

 

You have to sense that! Get dressed! Clothe yourself like in a hooded coat! Create a circle of light around you!

 

Put on the golden armour of a spiritual warrior and boot up the Golden Aura of a Hierarch. (Nicholas Roerich "Fiat Rex")

 

The powerful radiations of Primal Energy can even conceal someone, completely or partially. (Supermundane 77)

 

"What does ‘ramp up the aura’ specifically mean?"

 

You form the energy field, the being of light around you, by increasing your vibration and filling yourself with purity, power, love and joy for the upcoming day.

 

The spirit that animates you also saturates the space around you with energy.

 

And the more powerful it is, the wider is the range it covers! A great spirit extends its shield to a whole area. You may start with energetically shielding your home and your family.

 

If such a Sadhu is really a hermit of saintly life, he raises the surrounding vibrations by the power of his aura and brings them into harmony, preventing the intrusion of chaos, such as epidemics, earthquakes, floods, and other calamities. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of 25.06.1936)

 

Throughout the day, you must employ all your psychic energy to maintain this fragile structure, to feed it constantly, to repair damage, and to prevent it from weakening or even completely collapsing from external attacks or from a diminution of your own strength.

 

The hologram flickers, trembles and goes out depending on how it is nourished from within. With a beginner at least it is not constant but fluctuating from moment to moment.

 

"And this hologram, this artificial object I am to fill with consciousness?"

 

Yes, it cannot live without consciousness.

 

"That is fantastic, pure science fiction!"

 

It might seem so. However, let us not push the comparison too far. Do not forget: We are talking about your Fiery Body, which is already existing as a germ within you. This is what you bring to life. This is what you ramp up. This is where you move your consciousness. That at least is a quite realistic possibility.

 

 

4. Outlook: Densification of the Astral Body

 

At the end of this Broadcasting, let us point to another step of the infinite development that lies ahead of us: Agni Yoga repeatedly speaks about the experiment of densifying the astral body.

 

The physical body in the further evolution will be replaced by the densified astral body. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. II, letter of 14.01.1937)

 

This means in a nutshell: Once you have created a clearly defined and outlined body of spirit or body of light, which – unlike the animals – has a distinct form and identity in the Higher World, then – but only then! – you may proceed to densify this construction of highly vibrating, subtle matter (this hologram) more and more until one day it is able to appear and act like a physical body on Earth.

 

In this way, the Mahatmas, if necessary in exceptional cases, appear on the material plane.

 

*****

 

Do you grasp the fantastic, staggering possibilities that are offered to humanity?

 

We are speaking of a completely new kind of body: It is immortal, needs no food, has no illnesses and is not exposed to the usual wear and tear, weaknesses and ailments of our physical body! This vehicle comes to the world without physical reproduction, without sexuality, without the toils and torments of childbirth.

 

Regarding the paragraph from the book “Heart” [Heart 10] about “a new form of the subtle body,” this deals with the new attempts to densify the subtle body almost up to the point of the physical. In the future, this will give to some high spirits, which have already crossed the line of earthly being, the possibility of appearing among the earth dwellers at a comparatively low altitude, and for longer periods. Moreover, such bodies will be entirely visible and even possible to contact physically without the aid of a mediator. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. I, letter of 05.03.1935)

 

This creature is perfect, flawless, as beautiful as you can possibly imagine, and adorned with sublime qualities such as inviolability, invincibility, fearlessness, freedom and unassailable dignity.

 

The experiment with the densified astral body, in substance, is not an attempt, but a plan-fitting inception of the Sixth Race. Thus the human spirit will receive a regenerated garment. (Hierarchy 206, 207)

 

However, we do not create this new body, like Paracelsus his homunculus, by mechanical means, or as modern scientists by genetic manipulation.

 

Our creation proceeds in a purely spiritual way, solely through the power of our thoughts and ideas!

 

A dream of mankind comes true! For the benefit of humanity, let us begin with this experiment of truly world-historical significance. Let us proceed as scientists do – but with one difference:

 

We are experimenting with ourselves!

 

Intellectuals are experimenting with ideas, monks with their own lives. (Raimondo Panikkar)

 

Take the example of Gandhi, whose autobiography bears the title: "The Story of My Experiments with the Truth." In fact, he has been working tirelessly to transform himself into a purer and nobler being, and over time he has succeeded.

 

Only enthusiasm can reign for the gigantic possibilities that Agni Yoga reveals to us!

 

"Are you losing contact with reality?

 

No. Although, of course, that lies far in the future.

 

Toward the end of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh race, there will occur the materialization of the astral body. (Helena Roerich Letters Vol. I, letter of 05.05.1934)

 

However, when you create, as described in this Broadcasting, a thought-construction or an ideal body on the spiritual level and then bring this subtle reality to bear in the material world, you are already laying the foundation on which the densification of this image will later become possible.

 

*****

 

There is a statement of the Teaching that sounds highly mystical. Nevertheless, you should study it thoroughly:

 

If the clarity of the Image of the Teacher brings us into closest cooperation with him, then each clear and vivid conception of an object in our third eye makes it near and attainable. One of the conditions of ancient magic was to teach the vividness of objects evoked by our inner conception.

If the object is called forth with all completeness of line and colour, one can apply it for realizing the most immediate influence; one may, as it were, possess it. Without limitations of space, one can regulate and bring closer its possibilities; from the most customary objects to the far-off planets one can utilize this force.

There is nothing of the supernatural in this; but one identifies so to speak with the duplicate and a vital unifying thread is drawn to it. One can gradually develop in oneself these abilities upon habitual objects, noticing thereby that when a clear image is created, a peculiar tremulous vibration occurs, similar to a magnetic influence. (Hierarchy 91)

 

Very briefly summarized and explained as simply as possible, Agni Yoga says: You can imagine an object like a hammer, fill this picture with life and then actually use it on the material level for driving in a nail. Or you may create the image of an airplane, stabilize and densify it, and then take the wheel and fly away.

 

Likewise, you can visualize the portrait of the teacher and then work with his power.

 

If you can visualize the Image of the Teacher in your consciousness with the most complete clarity you can transfer your consciousness into His, and thus act, as it were, through His Power. But for this, one must visualize the Image of the Teacher with utmost precision, even to the minutest detail, so that the Image may not falter, or suffer distortion, or change its outline, as frequently happens. But if, following the exercise of concentration, one succeeds in invoking a constant Image of the Teacher, through this one may gain the greatest benefit for oneself, for one’s nearest ones, and for the work. (Hierarchy 90)

 

"I am sorry, but that all sounds a bit like daydreaming without a real basis."

 

Well, at least this is what the Mahatma teaches us. Of course, this is an ability which we will be able exploit in the very distant future only. However, what I wish to convey is:

 

If we can visualize, densify and use a completely foreign, external object, the same must be possible all the more with our soul, our Fiery Body, which already exists within us!

 

Exactly that what seems impossible and what you cannot even imagine today, will be a reality tomorrow!

 

Above all, this view into the distant future shows: We are on the right track when we set off today to carry out the exercises described in this Broadcasting:

 

Create an ideal image of your own soul, consolidate it in thought, transfer your consciousness into this structure and thereby fill it with life; let it take shape – at least as a spiritual reality, as a being of light – make it appear on the earthly plane and densify it so much to near-material reality that it is almost visible, at least noticeable.

 

These are already the first steps on the path to the densification of the astral body.

 

*****

 

Once again, we recognize the essence of the Agni Yoga path:

 

Choose an ideal and embody it on the material level.

 

The idea is made flesh, the thought takes shape.  

 

Following this path, out of the still unprocessed raw material of your soul, you create a work of art, namely a being of spirit of great purity, power and beauty, and make it act on earth.